In the 2023 season professional football K-League 1 (Part 1),스포츠토토 in which each team played 13 games, Ulsan Hyundai (34 points) is dominating, and the competition for second place is hot. FC Seoul (27 goals), Jeju United (20 goals), and Pohang Steelers (19 goals), which recorded 23 points side by side, run 2nd to 4th in order of points. Recently, Jeju’s 5-game winning streak caused a change in the top tier. It is a reversal drama of Jeju, which fell to 12th place with only 2 draws and 3 losses until the 5th round. Jeju continued their winning streak by winning 5-0 in the K-League 1 round 13 away match against Suwon FC on the 14th.
The biggest secret to a 5-game winning streak is solid defense. Veterans such as Kim Oh-kyu (34), Jeong-woon (34), and Lim Chae-min (33) showed solid defense and prevented six out of 13 games without conceding a goal. Goalkeeper Kim Dong-jun (29) blocks 48 out of 68 effective shots (shots to the goal) of the opponent and boasts the highest save rate (70.6%) as the main goalkeeper in the league. Jeju is recording the second fewest goals among 12 K-League 1 teams.
The offense is scoring evenly. Strikers Hays (30, Brazil) and Seo Jin-soo (23) each scored 4 goals, Yuri Jonatan scored 3 goals, and defensive midfielder Kim Bong-soo (24) also scored 2 goals. Jeju has the highest number of shots on target (67) among the 12 K-League 1 teams, and has the second highest shot-to-shot ratio (0.44).
When discussing a successful team, one cannot leave out the atmosphere. At the suggestion of Koo Ja-cheol (34), Jeju started this season with six new captains. The captain team, led by captain Choi Young-joon (32), including Koo Ja-cheol, Kim O-kyu, Jeong-woon, Ahn Hyun-beom, and Kim Dong-jun, faithfully fulfills the role of a bridge between the players and the coaching staff. Coach Nam Ki-il (49), who is in his 11th year at the K-League headquarters, also throws off his strong image and listens to the players’ stories while having meals or tea time with the captains from time to time. An official from the Jeju club said, “The captains are taking turns and cheering up the team atmosphere through ‘locker room speeches’.”
A fair wind is blowing at the box office. Jeju’s home stadium is in Seogwipo City (Jeju World Cup Stadium), so there was a difficulty in accessibility for Jeju citizens. It takes about an hour by car from Jeju Airport to the stadium. However, the club’s active supporters and activities close to the region, such as youth club partnerships, were effective, and on the 23rd of last month, more than 10,000 paying spectators (10,041) entered for the first time in a home game against Jeonbuk. The average attendance this season is 7,000.
